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Eaton Rapids MI
Samara, Russia
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Power Plant
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Continuously training and
educating our employees help them remain
competitive. Many of their facilities, like
Erickson Station, have invested in
cross-training, so that several people can do one
another's jobs in case of illness. It helps them
keep employment levels efficient while
maintaining quality, expert at all times.
At the BWL, teamwork is the key to providing
lower-cost services. When employees see s better
way, management helps them reach their goals.
That kind of teamwork helped coal-handing crews
at Erickson Station set new record for unloading
coal cars, saving $250000 a year.
By its nature, utility work is often dangerous.
That's why we place a premium on safety and
include it as a major corporate performance
measurement. We provide daily
"tailgate" safety discussions among
field crews, and mandatory monthly safety
meetings for all employees. These efforts have
been rewarded by a low ratio of accidents per
hours worked, and regional and national
recognition for safe work practices.
Erickson Station received $12 million in
renovation upgrades in 1998 alone. While Erickson
was down for scheduled turbine maintenance, a new
electrostatic precipitator and 16 new " low
Nox" burners were installed at the plant.
The improvements will reduce emissions and bring
Erickson into compliance with federal nitrous
oxide regulations that take effect in the year
2000. New low NOx burners are also being
installed at the BWL's Eckert Power Plant.
Regular maintenance of existing equipment gives
the Board of Water & Light an edge in keeping
its plants and equipment efficient. For example,
the newest of the Board's electrical generation ,
Erickson Station, was built nearly 30 years ago.
But with regular maintenance performed by
experienced and skilled BWL employees, it is as
efficient as many new generation facilities
around the nation.
Eighteen months of tests recently confirmed that
the BWL power plants can burn low-cost western
coal, which is considerably cheaper and lower in
sulfur content than the eastern coal we
traditionally burn. So we're investing $12
million in power plant improvements to allow us
to burn this lower-cost coal on a permanent
basis. These improvements will be financed
without a rate hike. They will temporarily freeze
their energy cost adjustment at its current level
and use the money they save by burning western
coal to pay for the plant improvements. It have
been completed and paid for ,we'll unfreeze the
energy cost adjustment and begin passing on the
savings from burning western coal to our
customers. Overall, they and their customers will
save about $3 million a year in fuel costs as a
result of this western coal conversion project.
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